


Fuller House: Phoenix Son

by comixgirl



Series: Burned [4]
Category: Fuller House (TV)
Genre: Drama, Family Drama, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:01:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26058403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/comixgirl/pseuds/comixgirl
Summary: A Sidestory set in the Burned Series: Jackson Fuller has been gone for over 9 years and has not been heard from by his family since the day he disappeared.  However someone has found out where he is.  What do they do with that knowledge.
Series: Burned [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1862437
Comments: 2





	Fuller House: Phoenix Son

AN: The idea for this story sprang from the conversation I wrote in Chapter 2 between Jackson and his mother. Let me know what you think.

~ May 19, 2034 ~

Donna Jo Hale was very nervous. She was out of her comfort zone and was traveling into unfamiliar territory for her. She was the goody two shoes of the family. She was horrible at lying, much less keeping things from her family and loved ones but this was something she had to do. An issue nine years in the making really. She had told her husband that she was going to be out of town for the weekend for a veterinarian conference. As he was not fond of them Steve was ecstatic that she did not ask him to go with her. It was early Friday morning and DJ made sure everything was ready for her trip. She had pre-booked a hotel room moths ago, she had packed her new Silver Chevrolet Equinox with her luggage and snacks and after kissing her husband of fourteen years, Steven Hale, goodbye left San Francisco as quickly as possible before she broke down and told someone where she was really going and why.

It was a nice day and DJ had programmed her onboard navigation with the address of her hotel and she was off. She had loaded her iPhone with two gigabytes of music, mostly 80's tunes, and pressed play as she started her trip. DJ set the cruise control speed on her Equinox to the speed limit, stayed in the far right lane and cruised along the road and took the time to enjoy the sights. This trip was by no means a sight seeing trip, no she had two specific goals to accomplish but the sights were a nice bonus. Several times while she was planning this trip she came ever so close to revealing to her loved ones the true reason she was making this trip but to do so she would unintentionally be inviting more people along with her. While she was being sneaky on two fronts, she couldn't count on the second party making an unexpected appearance. If he did, well she would cross that bridge when she got there.

When DJ left the state of California and entered Arizona the roads became very sparse with vehicles and she had to adjust the speed to a higher speed (just adjusting her cruise control setting). Ten and a half hours later she found her self arriving at her destination at 5:30 PM. Climbing out of her car she was greeted by the valet who removed her two bags and handed her a valet ticket. DJ wheeled her luggage to the front desk, checked into the hotel and smiled when the young lady behind the desk gave her the key to her room. She took the elevator to her room located on the forth floor of the hotel. DJ pulled the luggage to the edge of her bed and placed her iPhone on the mattress and dialed Steve.

"Hi DJ." Steve says when the connection is made.

"Hi Steve. I just called to let you know I got here safe and am all checked in. I am going to put my things away, get cleaned up and go have dinner but I just wanted to let you know that I arrived." DJ says to her husband.

"Well I'm glad you're safe. Did you enjoy your drive?" Steve asks.

"It was very nice, I'm glad I opted to drive as opposed to flying." She tells Steve.

"Well I hope everything goes well tomorrow." Steve says.

"Thanks sweetie. All right, I will let you go. Have a good night and I'll see you when I get back Sunday night." DJ informs her husband.

With that bit of business dealt with DJ puts her clothes away save for the evening wear she has for dinner. The room she has booked was very nice and actually had a Jacuzzi which after her long drive was just what DJ needed. Turning on the jets DJ let the tub fill and slowly climbed into the warm water. She loved the feel of the water on her back and feet. After soaking for twenty minutes Donna Jo Hale climbs out of the tub, reluctantly, wraps a towel around herself and dries off. Once she's dry she walks into the room and puts on her casual night clothes and makes her way downstairs to the valet. Handing the young man her ticket stub he heads out to go get her SUV.

Fifteen minutes later DJ finds herself at a local restaurant that based on reviews is a local favorite. The restaurant has a varied cuisine to satisfy almost anything a connoisseur could want. DJ walked up to the host and let him know that she was there to meet someone. "Mrs Hale?" A voice called out to her. DJ turned to the right and saw a young woman she guessed to be about the same height as Rocki. That and their complexion were where the similarities ended between the two girls. Her hair was dark blonde, almost brown and she had very blue eyes. She also gave off a very warm and friendly persona as opposed to Rocki's more gruff personality.

"Hi, I'm Chloe, Chloe Donovan." The young woman introduced herself

DJ walked with Chloe to the table that the younger woman had reserved for them. The host pulled out the chairs for the two ladies and they thanked him for his assistance. Moments latter their waitress arrived with menus, introduced herself ans Kathleen and took their drink orders. The two were initially quiet while they perused the menus. When Kathleen returned with their drinks the two new acquaintances placed their order, handed their very friendly waitress the menus and then sat quietly for a few moments.

"I'm sorry." Chloe started off. "I've wanted to meet you for so long that I am almost at a loss on where to start or even how to begin this... well this."

"I'm sorry as well. When we planned this I had so many things that I wanted to ask you as well. I mean, it's not every day you meet the woman that was supposed to marry your missing son."

"How about this, we restart at our meeting and we tell one another a little about ourselves." Chloe offered. DJ agrees.

"Hi Mrs Hale, my name is Chloe Donovan." The younger woman begins extending her hand in friendship.

"It is very nice to meet you Chloe. My name is Donna Jo Hale, but everyone calls me DJ." DJ Hale responds and takes the younger woman's hand in friendship and shakes it.

"I met your son when we were both eighteen in Cancun, Mexico during spring break. He was with his group of friends and I was with my relatives. We talked online for three years after that but then lost contact after I had to focus on my accounting career." Chloe said.

"Before I start how much do you know about our family so I don't retread over things you already know." DJ asks Chloe.

"Very little. I know you remarried before his senior year of high school. That he is the oldest of three boys. Ramona Gibbler is the only daughter of your best friend and that she is like a sister to Jackson. I heard him mention aunts but do not recall him every giving names. I know he was part of a large extended family but that's about all I know." Chloe stated.

"Ok, I can work with that. Well, as you know I am Jackson's mother. I will start with our extended family and work down from there." DJ produced an 11 inch iPad Pro and moved her chair closer to Chloe so she could see the pictures more easily. "So this is a picture of my family before I went to college. That's my father, Danny Tanner, my Uncle Jessie, his wife Rebecca, their twin sons Alex and Nicky. This is my father's best friend Joey Gladstone, he helped raise my sisters and I after my mother died. This is my younger sister Stephanie and my baby sister Michelle." DJ says as she shows Chloe her family photo.

"Wow... I had no idea Jackson came from such a large family." Chloe informs DJ.

DJ then flipped to the next family photo. "This was taken just before Jackson's 12th birthday. His father's name was Thomas Fuller and he was a fireman who died in the line of duty shortly after this was taken. This is his younger brother Maxwell, he goes by Max. This is Tommy Fuller Junior, his baby brother."

Chloe sat silently as DJ flipped to the next photo. "This picture was taken when Jackson was fourteen, this was two years after his father passed away. You can see how my family has aged. Joey married a stage magician named Ginger and they have four children. The only member of my immediate family not present is my sister Michelle. This is Steven Hale, my husband now but at the time we weren't dating. This was his girlfriend at the time CJ Harbenberger and her daughter Rose. This was my boyfriend at the time Matt Harmon. He is now married to Rocki's mother Gia. This is Kimmy and her now husband Fernando Guerrero. They are Ramona's parents and finally we have Jimmy Gibbler, Stephanie's now husband and Kimmy's brother."

"Wow, that is a lot of people." Chloe states.

"We're actually not even done yet. My Uncle Jessie and Aunt Becky decided to adopt a baby and on New Year's day they received..." DJ paused to flip to the next photo, baby Pamela Katsopolis. She's named after my mother's who was Jessie's older sister. Two years later Kimmy became a surrogate for Stephanie who we thought wasn't able to conceive a child and gave birth to Danielle Jo Tanner. Stephanie was actually able to conceive a baby after years of trying and had another daughter that she and Jimmy named Jinny. That, is our family." DJ said.

Chloe was at a loss for words. She couldn't believe that Jackson had never really mentioned any of his family. She wondered how he could have kept all of this information bottled up for so long. Chloe pulled out her own iPad Pro and began showing DJ her own family photos. "This is my mother and I, it's fairly recent." Chloe says showing DJ the photo. She flips to the next photo, this is my uncle, my mother's brother Sean Donovan. His wife Rebecca, but my mother and I call her Becca. These three are my cousin's Chase, Chad and Charlie." Chloe states.

"Cute, your names all start with the letter C." DJ says.

The two were finally finished showing off their family photos just as their waitress and another server arrive carrying the food the two ladies have ordered. DJ and Chloe ate and continued to make small talk with one another. Chloe learned more about Jackson's life and about his family in this one meal that she did during the three years she was engaged to Jackson Fuller.

"So tell me Chloe, how did you and my son become a couple?" DJ asked the younger woman after they finished their meal.

"At the time I thought it was fate. We were both at a restaurant here in town, Outback Steakhouse for the record, and we bumped into one another coming out of the restroom. He recognized me almost instantly but it took him reminding me of Cancun for me to remember him." Chloe detailed. "He was there with his co-workers, he said he was an IT tech for a company that had sent him overseas which was where he had just come from. I sweet talked him into joining me and my family for dinner and he did." Chloe then went into how she and Jackson spent the weekend finding him a place to live. How Jackson opted to buy a house as opposed to renting an apartment from someone else.

"He actually bought a house?" A surprised DJ Hale asked in shock.

"Yeah. Apparently his lodging was paid for by his company for most of the previous six years that he worked for his company so he was able to save a large amount of money for the down payment. He found a house that had recently been flipped so he was able to talk the Realtor down on the price and within a week he owned his first house. It was very impressive." Chloe told Jackson's mother.

"I would like to see his house, if you don't mind taking me there." DJ requested.

"I think we can make that happen." Chloe tells her ex's mother.

The following morning DJ Hale put the last of her belonging back into her SUV and waited patiently for Chloe to arrive. Per the young woman's suggestion DJ Hale checked out of her hotel room and planned to stay her last night in Jackson's home. Chloe assured her that even if Jackson were to return he would want her there with him rather than spending her money on a hotel room. Five minutes later and Chloe Donovan pulled up with a passenger inside. DJ recognized the woman from Chloe's photograph as Claire Donovan, her mother. Claire Donovan stepped out of the car and formally introduced herself to DJ. "I'll ride with you and lead you to Jackson's house." Claire said after greeting DJ.

DJ and Claire climbed into her SUV and DJ inserted the key into the ignition and started her engine. When Chloe was sure she was ready to go she slowly pulled out of the valet lot with Jackson's mother driving behind her at a safe distance. Claire guided DJ through the streets of Phoenix until they arrived at their destination. Chloe had arrived several minutes before them to punch in the code to the keyless entry for the garage so that DJ could park in the garage. Chloe parked her car in the spot normally filled by Jackson's car. Chloe then pressed the garage door button and the three ladies watched the door seal shut before they prepared to venture into the house.

Chloe tapped in the numbers 0331 into the security panel and the alarm for the house disarmed. "I'm actually surprised he hasn't changed the number." Claire says after Chloe entered it.

"It's the master passcode for the alarm system. Only he and I knew it." Chloe explained.

"Is there any special significance to the numbers?" DJ inquired.

"It's the month and year we came back into each others lives." Chloe stated. Opening the door Chloe motioned for DJ to enter first, followed by her mother. Chloe was the final one into the house and she closed the access door to the garage behind her. DJ found herself in the laundry room. The floors were wood and according to Chloe ran throughout the entire house. Chloe insisted they leave their shoes on the mat in the laundry room and the two mothers complied with her wishes.

"Out of curiosity is it the same code for the garage door?" DJ asked Chloe.

"No, that code is 0211. He never told me why he picked those numbers." Chloe informs DJ.

"It's my birthday. February 11th." DJ tells Chloe.

"Yet another secret." Chloe mutters. Would that really have killed him to tell her that. She thinks to herself.

Chloe led the two mothers to the central hallway and turned them to the left. Claire had been in the house many times but she, like Chloe was anxious to learn more about DJ and her family. Chloe then said, "These two rooms are the second and third bedrooms of the house. They are connected by that small corridor and have their own full bath. Each bedroom has a nice sized walk-in closet."

DJ took a quick peak into the two bedrooms. "I see he turned this one into an office." DJ remarked about the room Chloe informed her was called bedroom 2 in the plans.

"Yes, he did that after he moved in." Chloe remarked.

"I take it you picked the color for this room?" DJ asked in reference to bedroom 3.

"Yes. We painted it before I started putting things into it. My workplace is about a mile down the street so at the time I would spend most of my time with Jackson so he insisted I keep things here to save travel time. He bought a dresser and a futon for me."

"So you didn't live here?" DJ asked Chloe.

"Not at first. We dated for about six months at which time my lease was coming up at my apartment. I hoped he would ask me to move in with him since I was practically living here anyways. The night of our six month anniversary he got us dinner, we at outside on the covered patio..." Chloe took that as a cue to lead DJ and her mother to the back of the house. DJ saw the kitchen, dining room, living room which led to the covered patio.

"Very nice."

"Yeah, so over dinner Jackson asked me about my apartment, I broached the idea of moving in as a roommate and he told me he didn't want a roommate. He then produced a ring and asked me to move in as his fiance. So after I said yes I moved in a week later." Chloe stated. She then led DJ to the final area of the house, Jackson's Master bed and bathroom.

"Wow, this is very nice." DJ said in awe.

The ladies then walked out of the room and went to sit on the couch in the great room. "I take it you knew Jackson wasn't going to be here this weekend?" DJ asked trying to find out more about her son's life.

"Jackson still talks to my cousin Charlie. He told Charlie that he was going to be out of town till after Memorial Day and asked him to pick up the mail every few days. Charlie has codes to the front door and the alarm that Jackson gave him. In fact he should be walking in the door with the mail right about..."

The three ladies heard four electronic tones before the front door opened. They then heard the sound of shoes hitting the ground followed by feet shuffling on the floor. Charlie was flipping though the mail pulling out ads and junk mail to recycle and failed to notice the three women.

"Hello Charlie." Chloe says announcing their presence.

Charlie tosses the mail in the air and lets out a surprised yelp as he falls backwards in shock. His cousin and aunt are laughing at him as he pries himself from the ground. "Chloe... wha... what are you doing here?" Charlie asks.

"I'm showing our guest around Jackson's house." Chloe informs her cousin.

"I take it Jackson doesn't know you still have access to his home?" Charlie ponders aloud.

"He should, he gave me the master codes. It's not like I sneak into his house every time he leaves town, this is a one time thing for our guest." Explained Chloe.

"I'm sorry... I'm Charlie Donovan, and you are?" Charlie asks.

"Charlie, this is Donna Joe Hale, Jackson's mother." Charlie's Aunt Claire informs the young man.

"Jackson's... mother?" Charlie says in shock. "Really?"

"In the flesh." DJ states. "But please, call me DJ."

"H... how... how is it you're here? I thought Jackson didn't talk to his family." Charlie said as he shook hands with Jackson's mom.

"I called her. Two months ago when Jackson was three weeks overdue. I called and introduced myself hoping to know if she had heard from Jackson during that time." Chloe tells her cousin. "We've been talking periodically ever since."

"And you didn't tell Jackson you were talking to his mother... did you." Charlie asked rhetorically. If Jackson knew Chloe had called his mother things probably would have been very different two months ago.

"No, I didn't. Everything changed so rapidly that it never came up." Chloe says.

DJ and the Donovan's order food and the quartet begin telling one another stories about each of their families and about Jackson. The Donovan's learn more about Jackson, where he came from, what he was like as a child, his family, every possible question that they always wondered DJ answered as best she could. Likewise Charlie, Claire and Chloe shared their experiences with Jackson during the three years he was living in this house and as a part of their family. DJ really liked these people and was glad that even if her son had not been a part of her life for so long that he wasn't alone the entire time he was gone. The saddest part for her was the realization that Jackson had allowed his job to come between himself and such a loving young woman like Chloe.

"So how much longer are you staying?" Claire asked DJ.

"Only until tomorrow morning. I have a long drive back to San Francisco and I have work first thing Monday morning." DJ tells her new friend.

"Charlie, I told her she could stay here for the night and save her money. Jackson's not here anyways." Chloe states for the record.

"Yeah, she should stay here." Charlie agrees.

"I'll come back first thing tomorrow morning and turn the alarm back on after I see her off." Chloe says.

Charlie reluctantly says his goodbyes to DJ and thanks her for stopping by and telling him so much about his friend. He carries out a bag of trash with him as his trash day is the following day and he didn't want to leave it in Jackson's house fermenting until he returned in a week. DJ wishes him well and says goodnight. Chloe and Claire decide to call it a night as well and both women hug Jackson's mother. DJ thanks them for everything they did for Jackson during their time together. Chloe says she'll be back at 8:00 AM to see DJ off.

DJ has tided up and returned everything to where Jackson had left it. As she walks through the now empty house she can't help but wonder if this is how Jackson feels every time he walks through the halls. It's so quiet, and plain now. Chloe and the Donovan's truly helped liven his house up, something Jackson must be aware of. DJ goes to her car and collects her suitcase. She carries it to the master bedroom where she lays out her night clothes, towel and hygiene kit. She walks into Jackson's master bathroom and runs the water in the shower. DJ climbs into the shower and washes off the day's grime from her body. As the water cascades over her she tries to imagine what her son would think if he were magically to return home and find his mother in his house. Would he be happy to see her, would he be upset that his former fiance had called her. A myriad of possibilities ran through her head. DJ Hale finished her shower, dried off, and then made her way back to the bedroom. She put on her nightgown and climbed into Jackson's bed, which she found very comfortable and fell right asleep.

Morning came and the alarm on DJ's phone woke her up at 7AM. DJ stretched out and took in her surroundings one last time. After she was out of bed she fixed the sheets so Jackson would never know that his bed had been slept in while he was away. Rifling through her suitcase, she pulls out something that she had brought with her, something that she intended to leave for her son. DJ packed up her belongings and carried her suitcase back to the living room. Leaving her belongings there for the moment, she walked into Jackson's office, envelope in hand and opened the right side desk drawer. DJ lifted the lip of the envelope, reached in and pulled out the item inside of the 9 by 12 inch tan envelope. Inside was a photo of the Fuller family, taken the year it was just the house occupants. DJ replaced the photo and put the envelope in the desk drawer. She was sure he would discover it eventually and he would wonder where it came from. Maybe it would help convince him to pick up his phone and call her.

Despite the misgivings she had about not outright telling her son she had been here she knew it was the best thing to do. Jackson might get upset that he had been found and simply disappear again. At least now she knew where he was and that he was alive. As unhappy as she was that he wasn't a part of her life should could accept that he seemed to be safe. Chloe arrived at her former residence at 8AM just as she said she would. DJ met her at the door with a hug which Chloe returned. Chloe opened the garage door and DJ pulled her Chevrolet Equinox out of the garage. Chloe then reset the house alarm and closed the garage door from the outside.

"It was really nice meeting you DJ. Thank you for coming to see me and meeting my family." Chloe says grateful to the mother of her former fiance.

"It was very nice to meet you too Chloe. I know you and Jackson aren't together any longer. I wish that you could find your way back to one another." DJ informs the younger woman.

"We had love, that was never the problem, it's really just boils down to his secretive nature. I learned more from you in one day that I ever did in three years with him. I just can't live my life like than any longer." Chloe informs Jackson's mother.

"I understand. If you ever want to talk about it you have my number." DJ says.

The two women hug one final time before DJ Hale climbs into the drives seat of her SUV. She hesitates at first but starts the vehicle up and shifting the transmission into drive, starts her journey for home, hoping that where ever Jackson was at this moment that he was happy, and safe.

The End


End file.
